Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. He initially trained as an architect from 1897 to 1899, before moving to Paris in 1900. After his military service in 1902-1903, he enrolled at the School of Decorative Acts. He began to work seriously as a painter at the age of 25. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style. In 1935, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City presented an exhibition of his work. He has lived in the U.S. and France and was active as an artist across Europe and the U.S. He was active as a teacher for many years and developed his own Académie Fernand Léger in Paris. His boldly simplified treatment of modern subject matter has caused him to be regarded as a forerunner of Pop Art.
